Stiffener placing machine



March 14, 1939. B. JORGENSEN 2,150,279

STIFFENER PLACING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1957 e Sheets-Sheet 1 March 14, 1939. B. JORGENSEN I STIFFENER PLACING MACHINE- March 14, 1939.

B. JORGENSEN STIFFENER PLACING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 14, 1939. B, JQRGENSEN 2,150,279

STIFFENER FLAG ING MACHINE Filed Mai; 5, 1957 e Sheets-Sheet 5 March 14, 1939. B. JORGENSEN 2,150,279

STIFFENER PLAC ING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Mar. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES STIFFENER PLACING MACHINE Application May 5, 1937, Serial No. 140,974

36 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for softening a shoe part and placing it upon a partly fabricated shoe.

In the manufacture of shoes the toe portions of which are stiffened it is common to place between the toe portion of the lining and that of the upper a stiffener blank which is temporarily in softened condition but will become hard after a short interval and to conform the upper, lining and stiffener to the last while the stiffener is soft. Commonly the operator of the pulling-over machine picks up a stiffener which has been previously softened, places the softened stiffener in position between the upper and lining of a partly fabricated shoe, and proceeds immediately to carry out the pulling-over operation. The stiffeners are softened in various manners depending upon the nature of the stiffening substances which they contain, the two most commonly used softening mediums being heat for thermoplastic substances and an organic solvent for 'substances such as Celluloid. Since the operator must depend entirely upon his skill, the stiffeners are not always located in exactly proper position; and since the stiffening substances or the solvents or both collect upon the operators fingers, there is considerable liability that these materials will be transferred from the operators fingers to the display surfaces of the shoes which he handles and thereby cause stains.

The general object of the present invention is to do away with the manual operations which have been described above and to provide an improved machine for placing shoe parts in partly fabricated shoes. To this end there is provided, in accordance with one feature of the invention, a machine having a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a source of supply of a softening medium, and means for taking a shoe part from the stack, subjecting it to the action of the softening medium and depositing it in proper position upon a partly fabricated shoe presented to the machine. In the illustrated machine the shoe parts are stifieners of the thermoplastic type, and the softening medium is consequently heat.

The invention comprises, besides the general organization of the machine, as indicated above, certain details of construction and combinations of parts which will be described as embodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a machine in which the present invention is embodied;

PATENT OFFICE Fig. 2 is a view of the machine looking down upon its top;

Fig. 2 is a detail showing more particularly how the valves which control the suction are operated two at a time;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line III-III of Fi 2;

Fig. 4. is a vertical section on the line IVIV of Fig. 2 showing part of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through one of the stiffener carriers and the upper part of the shaft at the top of which the carriers are mounted;

Fig. 6 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section on the line VIVI of Fig. 5, the full lines showing the carrier and the valve in the position which they occupy in Fig. 5 with the i suction applied, and the dotted lines showing the position occupied by the valve to cut off the suction when the carrier occupies a position above a shoe;

Fig. '7 is a detail in plan of the mechanism for controlling the intermittent rotation of the shaft 29, said mechanism being shown in full lines in one position and in dotted lines in another, the dotted line positions being the normal positions corresponding to the positions of parts in Fig. -1 1 before the shoe has been presented to the machine;

Fig. 8 is a perspective of a shoe with a stiffener applied to it;

Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a portion of the machine with one of the carriers l1 holding a stiffener above a shoe; and

Fig. 10 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation showing the pressing of the stiffener upon the shoe after the carrier I! has been moved down.

The illustrated machine is so constructed that, upon proper presentation to it of'the toe portion of a lasted shoe with the 'forepart of the lining '40 of the shoe exposed, a soft and limp thermoplastic toe stiffener is presented above the locality of the lining to which it is to be applied and, upon depression of a treadle, is applied to the lining and pressed into place. Referring to Fig. 1 the general organization of the machine will be described. Stacks of stiffeners I00 of different sizes or shapes are supported on a turret which is preliminarily moved by hand to bring into operative position the particular stack from which it is desired to take stiffeners, this being the stack farthest to the left. Four stiffener carriers 15, H, H) and 21 in the form of suction pickers operate successively to pick a stiffener from the top of the stack, to carry the stiffener by intermittent movements through a heater or oven 23 so as to soften the stiffener and to deposit the softened stiffener upon the toe portion of a shoe which has been presented upon a support 25 and pushed against a toe-piece 21. Although the softening medium used in the illustrated machine is heat, is should be understood that the softening medium used depends upon the nature of the stifiening substance of the particular stifieners which are being employed. The air in the heater 23 is heated by an electric unit 22 controlled by a switch in a box 24 (Fig. 3).

Returning to Fig. l, the carriers l5, I1, l9 and 2! are in a position of rest, and if the machine were being operated all of them, except the carrier I1, would be carrying a stiffener. When a shoe is presented upon the support 25 and pushed to swing the toe piece 2? forward, a shaft 29 upon the top of which the hub of the carriers is mounted is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow on the shaft far enough to bring the carrier l5, whichis transporting a stiffener, into position above the shoe and to bring the carrier llinto position above the stack of stiffeners. A treadle 3! is then depressed tocause a slide 33 and the shaft 29 to be pulled down so that the carrier l deposits its stiffener upon the toe portion of the lining of the shoe, and a flexible presser comprising a chain 35 together with a rigid presser in the form of a rod 31 press the stiffener into place as shown in Fig. 10. At the same time (Fig. 1) the carrier I! descends upon the top of the stack preparatory to picking up a stifiener. Upon release of the treadle the slide 33 and the shaft 29 return to their upper positions; and, upon withdrawal of the shoe, the shaft rotates a short distance so that the four carriers i5, IT, IS and 2! once'more occupy the positions shown except that they have advanced through 90 sothat the carrier ll, which has picked up a stiffener, now occupies the position occupied in Fig. l by the carrier 19, and the carrier l5, which now carries no stiffener, occupies the position occupiedin the figure by the carrier ll. As successive shoes are presented the machine is operated as described above to deposit a stiffener upon each shoe and to press it into place.

The magazines for the. stacks of stiffeners (Figs. 1 and 4) are carried by a turret: comprising a base 39 and atop 4! connected by an upright sleeve 43, the hub of the base resting upon a part of the frame 45 and carrying an upright rod -51 about whichthe turret is rotatable. The base 39 has six open-endedslots 49 in its periphery, the purpose of which will be explained later, over each of which is a supporting plate 51 for a stack of. stiifeners, said plates being slidable vertically on upright rods 53 carried by the base. These upright rods and other upright rods 55, the lower ends of which extend through slots 57 in the base and areadjustably fastened to the base, serve as skeleton walls of the magazines. Six stacks of stiffe-ners of different sizes or styles may thus be carried by the turret which may be turnedby hand to bring the desired stack into operative position. The base of the turret (Fig. 4) is provided with six indexing holes ill with any one of which the conical end of a springpressed plunger 59 may engage.

The stack which is in operative position and from which stiifeners are to be. taken (the lefthand stack as viewed in Figs. 1 and 4) is supported by ablock 63 which engages the under' side of a plate 5!, said block being adjustably held at the upper end of an upright rod 65 which is vertically slidable. To the lower end of the slide rod are fastened the two ends of a cord 6'! to form an endless loop which runs around an upper pulley 6S and a lower pulley H rotatably carried by rigid parts of the machine. The right hand vertical run of this cord passes through a hole in a weight 13 and has collars l5 adjustably fastened to it above and below the weight. The tendency of the weight is at all times to raise the vertical rod 65 and thus to push up the stack of stifieners. It is prevented from upward movem ent, in the position of parts shown, because the rod passes through a slot in an arm a? which is pivoted to the frame at '69 and is urged at all times to swing up by a tension spring 85 and thereby to, bind or cramp the rod. When, however, the shaft 29 is pulled down by depressing the treadle to cause a stiffener to be placed on a shoe by one of the carriers and to cause the suckers of another carrier to engage the top of the stack of stiifeners, a collar 83 on the shaft engages the free end of the arm fl and swings it down far enough to release the slide rod 85 which is then free to move and may move up under the influence of'the weight 7?; until stopped and moved down by the suckers of the carrier which is descending upon it. The rod, and with it the stack, remains free to move down and up with the carrier, the suckers of which engage the top of the stack, until the shaft 29with its collar 83 rises far enough to permit the lever 77 to lock the rod 65 once more. With this construction the extent of downward movement of the carriers, which is limited by contact of one of the carriers with a shoe, may vary according to the difference in thickness of different shoes without interfering with the picking up by another carrier of a stifiener from the top of the stack.

It has been stated above that the turret which carries the stacks of stiffeners may be rotated to bring any desired stack into operative position. Since the slide rod 55 extends up through one of the slots in the edge of the base 39 of the turret, this rod must be pulled down before the turet can be rotated. To this end a second cord 85, which passes through a second hole in the weight 13 and has a collar 3? fastened to its lower end, passes successively over two small pulleys 39, one of which is mounted on the arm TI and-the other on the frame of the machine, extends out through a hole in one of the uprights of the frame (Fig. l), and has a handle 9! fastened to its free end. By swinging down the arm ll (Fig. 4:) to release the slide rod 55 and pulling on the handle 9i, the slide rod may be lowered until the block 63 at it supper end is below the bottom of the base 3?) of the turret.

The vertically slidable upright shaft 29 (Fig. 3 is rotatabiy mounted at its upper end in a bearing sleeve 93 and at its lower end in a ball bearing 95. A friction driven disl; $7 slidably keyed to it is held at all times in contact with the upper flat face of a driving pulley 99 by a compression spring lot backed by a collar 33 which is adjustably fastened to the shaft by a set screw. The driving pulley 9 is loose on the shaft and rests upon a collar Hi5 adjustably fastened to the shaft by a set screw ifil. The shaft 29is normally held up in the position shown by a tension spring i219 fast at its lower end to a treadle rod Hi the forked inner end of which is'pivoted to the frame at H3. This forked end straddles a spool E it, which is loose on the shaft and has pins, one of which isshown at Ill, which enter a horizontal groove in the spool.

The spool engages with its top a collar II9 adjustably fastened to the shaft by a set screw I2I. With the construction just described the shaft 29 is held in its upper position as long as the treadle 3I is not depressed. When the treadle is depressed the shaft is pulled down, there being a coiled spring I23 between the spool H and a collar I25 on the shaft so that when the downward movement of the shaft'is arrested, by reason of the presence of a shoe beneath one of the descending carriers, this spring may yield.

The pulley 99 is driven continually by a belt I21 from a small pulley I29 on a short shaft which carries a worm wheel I3I driven by a worm I33 on a short shaft driven through a belt I39 from an electric motor I32 controlled by a switch I28. The tension of the compression spring IOI, which holds the friction disk 91 against the upper fiat face of the pulley 99, is so adjusted that the shaft may be held stationary at any time. In the position of parts shown, the shaft is being held stationary, but whenever a shoe is presented to the machine, the shaft is released and rotates a short distance, the rotation of the shaft being controlled by the mechanism shown in Fig. '7. Referring to this figure, which shows in full lines the positions occupied by the parts after a shoe has been pushed against the toe piece 21, there is fastened to the shaft 29 by set screws I34, the hub of a controller F35 having four equally spaced projections I31, I39, I4I, I43 which are engaged successively by the tail and by the hook of a latch I45 pivoted to the frame of the machine at I41. This latch is normally in the dotted line position shown but is rocked about its pivot into the full line position when a shoe is presented to the machine and is returned to the dotted line position when the shoe is withdrawn. When the latch occupied its dotted-line position, the tail of the latch was in engagement with the projection I31 which at that time occupied its dotted-line position to the left of its full-line position. As soon as a shoe was presented to the machine the latch was swung into its full-line position and the hook at the right-hand end of the latch engaged the projection I31. This is the position of parts shown. When the treadle 3I is depressed to pull down the shaft 29 so as to cause a toe stiffener to, be pressed upon the lining of the shoe and one of the suction pickers to contact with the top of the stack (Fig. 5), the shaft 29 is prevented from turning by an upright bar I85 which enters one of four notches I83 in an indexing disk I 8| as will presently be described. When now the treadle 3I is released and the shoe removed from the machine, the latch I45 is swung again into its dotted-line position. Its tail engages the on-coming projection I39 and again stops the rotation of the shaft 29. The tail of the latch is pivoted at I49 to one end of a link I5I the other end of which is pivoted at I53 to the upwardly extending arm of a bell-crank lever I55 (Fig. 3) pivoted at I56 to the frame of the machine, the horizontal arm of the bell-crank lever being pivoted at I51 to the lower end of an upright link I59. The upper end of the link 159 is pivoted at I6I to the toe piece 21 which in turn is pivoted at I65 to the shoe support 25. A tension spring I69 (see also Fig. 2), fast at its lower end to the horizontal arm of the bell-crank lever I55 and at its upper end to the frame, holds the latch I45 normally in the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 7. When now a lasted shoe, with the forepart of its upper 200 pulled back to expose the forepart ofthe lining 300, is presented to the machine by having its toe end pushed forward over the support 25 until it swings the toe piece 21 to the right, the latch I45 (Fig. '7) is swung from its dotted line to its full line position; and when the shoe is withdrawn, after having had a stiffener placed upon it, the spring I68 returns the latch I45 to the dotted-line position so as to engage with its tall the on-coming projection I39.

The shoe support 25 (Fig. 1) has a lug upon its under side which fits between the upper ends of two bent arms I89, HI and is fastened in adjusted angular position by a screw bolt I12 which passes through alined holes in the arms and the lug. The arms I69, I1I (Fig. 9) are pivoted at their lower ends to the frame about alined pivots I13 and may be adjusted about the common axis of these pivots by turning a hand-wheel I15. The stem of this hand-wheel (Fig. 3) passes loosely through a cross-bar I11, which is rigid with the arms I69, HI, and is threaded into the frame, there being on the stem a collar I19 which confines the cross-bar between it and the hub of the hand-wheel I15 so that the arms I69, I1I are adjusted angularly when the hand-wheel I15 is turned. The purpose of this adjustment is to provide for properly locating toe stiffeners upon shoes of different styles or sizes, the toe piece 21 serving as a gage or stop to determine the position occupied by the shoe when a toe stiffener is placed upon it.

As has been explained above, when a shoe is presented to the machine and caused to swing the toe piece 21 (Fig. 3) forward, the latch I45 (Fig. 7) is moved from dotted line to full line position whereupon the shaft 29 revolves a certain distance carrying with it the controller I35 until the projection I31 encounters the hook of the latch. The shaft has mounted upon its upper end the hub of the four stiffener carriers, and when the shaft stops, the carrier I5 (Fig. 2)

which is holding a stiffener by suction has been moved into a position above the toe portion of the shoe. It is now necessary to pull down the shaft 29 and its four carriers, to cut off the suction from the carrier I5 and to press the stiffener against the toe portion of the lining of the shoe. All this is accomplished by depressing the treadle 3I. Depressing the treadle, as has been explained (Fig. 3), pulls the shaft down yieldingly through the compression spring I23 at the lower end of the shaft 29; and, in order to ensure that the shaft shall not be pulled down unless it is in proper angular position and shall be held from turning while it is pulled down, there is fast to the shaft, a little above its middle, an indexing disk I8I having in its periphery four open-ended slots I83 (Fig. 7) which register successively with an upright bar I85 carried by the frame of the machine, the upper end of this bar enteringa slot as the shaft is pulled down. The treadle 3!, through a rod I81 (Figs. 9 and 10) is connected to the slide 33 which carries, in a manner presently to be described, the flexible presser, which ends of equalizing. levers I91 which are pivoted on the stems of screws I99 threaded into a bar 21H said bar being pivoted at its middle about a stud 293 (Fig. 3 held by a set screw 295 in a bore in a boss on the rear of the slide 33. This stud 293 is integral at its right-hand end with a cylindrical casing 29? in which the presser rod 37 is slidably mounted. This rod has a stem of reduced diameter the upper threaded end of which passes through a bore in the top of the casing and has threaded upon it a check nut 209 and a lock nut 2. The upper ends of the equalizing levers 19? (Fig. 9) are connected by a tension spring 2&3; but between the coils of the spring at its middle portion extends a finger M5 which is integral with the casing 201. There are thus in effect two separate springs which connect the upper ends of the equalizing levers respectively with the finger 215. This construction maintains the bar 29! substantially horizontal when the slide is in raised position so that the flexible presser will always engage the stiffener properly when the slide 33 is pulled down. When the slide is pulled down the flexible presser, while in horizontal position, engages the middle of the rear margin of the soft and somewhat s'ticky stiffener and then is progressively flexed as it engages the portions of the stiffener on both sides of the middle and lays them smoothly into place. The presser rod 3'! engages the toe portion ofthe stiffener after the middle portion of the rear margin has been pressed into place and exerts a forward downward pull to smooth the stiffener lengthwise of the shoe. It should be noted that the slide 83, due to its connection through the rod i8? to the treadle rod H! at a point farther removed from the pivot H3 than is the spool H5, moves down faster than does the shaft 29 with its stiffener carriers, the timing being such that the flexible presser engages the stiffener just as the stiffener is deposited on the shoe. 7

As has been explained, the stiffener carriers l5, 5?, i9 and 2! operate by suction topick up stiffeners from the stack and to carry them through the heater, the suction being maintained in each carrier until that carrier is pulled'down to deposit its stiffener upon the shoe, at which time the suction is cut on. The suction is applied again after the carrier has moved to a position above the stack of stiffeners and is pulled down to engage the stiffener which is at the top of the stack. Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 3 and 5, and bearing in mind that in Fig. 5 the carrier ll is in a different position from that in which it is shown in Fig. 1, the suction apparatus will be described. A suction pump 217 (Fig. 1), the outlet of which is indicated. at ZIB, and. which is driven by a chain 2H3 from the motor I32, has its inlet (Fig. 3) connected by a flexible tube 221 with an annular chamber 223 (Fig. 5) formed inside the bearing 93 by cutting away a portion of the periphery of the shaft 29 gaskets 225 being provided to prevent leakage. The annular chamher 223 communicates by a port 22? with a central passageway 229 formedby drilling a hole in the upper end of the shaft 29 and closing it with a screw plug 231. Four ports in the upper part of the shaft 29, two of which are indicated at 233,. 235, connect the passageway 229 with longitudinal passageways in four arms, two of which are indicated at 2345, 239, said arms being integral with ahub 23? carried at the top of the shaft 29 and being spaced at equal angles about the axis of the shaft.

Since the suction carriers are all alike, only one of them will be described in detail. Referring still to Fig. 5 the arm 234 has a central passageway 239 which communicates with the port 233 and has also a larger central passageway 24! the wall of which, at its right-hand end, is threaded. A plug 243 closes the communication between the passageways 239 and 24!, said plug having the enlarged right-hand end of its stem threaded into the right-hand end of the arm 234. This enlarged end has a central bore 245 connected by ports 24'! with the passageway 24!. The passageway 233, which is at all times in communication with the suction pump, is put into communication with the passageway 24! at the proper times by means of a valve 249 which is mounted upon the arm 234 for angular movement first into one and then into the other of two positions. This valve has in it a longitudinally extending port 25I which, when the valve 249 is in the full line position shown in Fig. 6, connects the tops of two ports in the arm 234 one of which, 253, communicates with the passageway 24! and the other of which, 255, communicates with the passageway 239. Consequently by rocking the valve 249, suction may be applied to or cut off from the passageway 24f. Gaskets 25'! are located on the arm 234 one at each side of the valve 243, the gaskets and the valve being held between a shoulder on the hub 23? and the left-hand end of a sleeve which fits over the arm 234 and is held in place by a set-screw 261. The right-hand end of this sleeve is provided with three suckers, one of which is a vertical port 259 and the others of which are small curved pipes 263, the port and the pipes being in communication with one end of a passageway 265, the other end of which communicates with the central bore 245 in the enlarged end of the plug 243.

The valve 249 is rocked from one angular position (the full line position of Fig. 6) to the other angular position (the dotted line position of Fig. 6) and back again by engaging one and then the other of two studs 267, 269 carried by an arm 27! (Figs. 2 and 2 which is pivoted to a rigid part of the machine about the axis of the stud 259.

This rocking of the valve of the carrier i? (and of each of the other carriers) 7 occurs twice during a complete rotation of the shaft 29. When a carrier (for example the carrier l1) picks up a stir"- rier and remains applied as the carrier carries the stiffener through the heater and is moved down and up. When the carrier has reached a position above the shoe and is pulled down with the shaft 29 by depression of the treadle 3i, the under face of one end of the valve 2&9 is engaged by the stud 269 to rock the valve into the dotted line position of Fig. 6 so as to cut off the suction and permit the stiffenerto remain upon the shoe. the treadle is released the carrier rises with the shaft, and when the shoe is removed from the machine, the carrier moves to the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Presentation of the next shoe causes the carrier I? to move into position over the stack of stiffeners, and when the treadleis depressed and all the carriers are pulled down, the valve 249 of the carrier if is swung into the full line position of Fig. 6 to cause suction to be applied to it. The suckers of the the stack, and this stiffener is picked up on the next upward movement of the shaft 29.

Two of the valves, one on each of two adjacent carriers, are operated at the same time, one valve When fener from the stack, suction is applied to the car- .70 carrier contact with the stiffener at the top of being closed and the other opened. Referring to Fig. 2 the carrier with its valve 213 is shown in position above a shoe while the next carrier I1 is shown in position above the stack. The shaft 29 has been pulled down, the stud 269 has acted to close the valve 213 and the stud 261 has acted to open the valve 249. The dotted line position of the valve 249 in Fig. 6 does not correspond to the angular position of the carrier ll shown in Fig. 5. It shows the position of the valve 249 when the carrier I1 is in the angular position of the carrier l 5 as shown in Fig. 2 after the carrier has been pulled down to cut off the suction and permit the stiffener which it holds to be transferred to the shoe.

It has been explained that the studs 261, 259 (Fig. 2) which serve to open and close the valves of the carriers are mounted upon an arm 2'1! which is pivoted about the axis of the stud 269. Pivoted to the free end of this arm is a pull-rod 213 the outer end of which passes through an opening in a stationary member 215 and terminates in a handhold in the form of a ball 271. If at any time it is desired to operate the machine idly without having the carriers pick up stiffeners, the rod is pulled to swing the arm 2' into such a position that the stud 26'! is no longer operative. In such case, as each carrier descends from a position above a shoe, its suction is cut off by the action of the stud 259 and remains cut off, since the stud 26'! can no longer act upon the valve when the carrier is brought down upon the stack.

Briefly summarized the operation of the machine is as follows. The operator pulls back the toe portion of the upper 20! of a partly fabricated shoe upon a last to expose the toe portion of the lining, places the toe end of the shoe upon the shoe support 25, as shown in Fig. 3, and pushes the shoeforward to swing the toe piece 27 to the right. It will be noted that the shoe support 25, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, has a roughened corrugated surface the corrugations extending crosswise of the support, so that when a shoe, held as shown in Fig. 3, is pushed forward over the support, the lining is drawn smoothly over the toe portion of the last by the time the toe end of the shoe has been forced against the toe piece 21. At this moment the carriers l9, 2! and I5 are within the heating chamber and are each carrying a stiffener; and the carrier H is outside the heating chamber and carries no stiffener. Swinging the toe piece 21 to the right swings the latch I45 (Fig. 7) from dotted line to full line position whereupon the carriers l5, l1, l9 and 2! (Fig. l) are given a partial rotation to bring the carrier l5 above the shoe and the carrier I'I above the stack of stiffeners. The treadle is now depressed to pull down the shaft 29, and with it all of the carriers, the carrier l5 depositing its stiffener upon the shoe and the carrier l1 descending upon the top of the stack. 'This downward movement of the carriers cuts off the suction from the carrier l5 and applies suction to the carrier H by causing their respective valves 273 and 249 to be operated as shown in Fig. 2 Downward movement of the treadle 3! also pulls down the slide 33 with its pressing mechanism, and the stiffener Hill is engaged along its rear margin by the flexible presser, including the chain 35, and

by the rigid presser 37 and wrapped about the r the slide 33 to rise.

toe portion of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 10. The treadle is'releasecl to permit the shaft 29 and The carriers rise with the shaft, the carrier 51 lifting a stiffener from the top of the stack. The shoe is withdrawn whereupon the toe piece 21 swings to the left, the latch I45 (Fig. 7) returns to its dotted line position, and the shaft 29 with the carriers is given a partial rotation. The parts of the machine are now once more in the positions shown in Fig. 1, except that the carrier l5 occupies the position in which the carrier I! is shown, the carrier li occupies the position in which the carrier I9 is shown, etc, each carrier having advanced through ninety degrees.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine adapted to handle a particular shoe part, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine or to the handling of the particular shoe part which has been shown and described.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a source of supply of a softening medium, and a rotatable and slidable carrier for taking a shoe part from the stack, for subjecting it to the ac tion of the medium, and for depositing the softened shoe part upon the shoe.

2. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a source of supply of a softening medium, and a rotatable and slidable carrier including suction means for taking a shoe part from the stack, for subjecting it to the action of the medium, and for depositing the softened shoe part upon the shoe.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe the toe portion of the lining of which is exposed, a magazine for a stack of toe stiffeners, a source of supply of a softening medium, and means for taking a stiffener from the stack, for subjecting it to the action of the softening medium, for depositing the softened stiffener upon the lining of the shoe, and for pressing the stiffener against the shoe and wrapping it about the toe portion of the lining.

4. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, and means responsive to the presentation of said shoe to the machine for taking a. shoe part from the stack and for subjecting it to the action of a softening medium.

5. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, and means responsive to the presentation of said shoe upon the support for taking a shoe part from the stack and for subjecting it to the action of a. softening medium.

6. A machine for applying a. shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a chamber for a softening medium, and means responsive to presentation of said shoe to the machine for taking a shoe part from the stack and carrying it through the chamber.

7. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a chamber for a softening medium, and means responsive topresentation of said shoe upon the support for taking a shoe part from the stack and carrying it through the chamber.

8. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a chamber for asoftening medium, means responsive to presentation of said shoe to the machine for taking a shoe part from the stack and carrying it through the chamber, and operator controlled means for depositing the shoe part upon the shoe.

9. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a source of supply of a softening medium, and means responsive to presentation of said shoe to the ma chine for taking a shoe part from the stack, subjecting it to the action of the softening medium and carrying it into a position in the locality of presentation of the shoe.

10. A machine for app-lying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a source of supply of a softening medium, means responsive to presentation of said shoe to the machine for taking a shoe part from the stack, subjecting it to the action of the softening medium and carrying it into a position in the locality of presem tation of the shoe, and operator controlled'means for causing the shoe part to be deposited upon the shoe.

11. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for shoe parts, and means responsive to the presentation of said shoe upon the support for taking a shoe part from the stack and carrying it into a position adjacent to the shoe prior to the application of the part to the shoe.

12. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for shoe parts, means responsive to the presentation of said shoe upon the support for taking a. shoe part from the stack and carrying it into a position adjacent to the shoe, and operator-controlled means for depositing the part upon the shoe.

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers, and means for causing the carriers to take shoe parts successively from the stack and to deposit them successively upon shoes presented successively to the machine, said means including mechanism for causing two of the carriers to move simultaneously one toward the stack and the other toward the shoe.

14. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers, and means for causing the carriers to take shoe parts successively from the stack to subject them to the action of a softening medium and to deposit them successively upon shoes presented successively to the machine, said means including mechanism for causing two of thecarriers to move simultaneously one toward the stack and the other toward the shoe.

15. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers, and means for causing the carriers to take shoe parts successively from the stack and to deposit them successively upon shoes presented successively upon. the support, said means including mechanism for causing two of the carriers to move simultaneously one toward the stack and the other toward the shoe.

16. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers rotatably mounted about a common axis, and means for causing partial rotation of the carriers to move a carrier which is holding a shoe part into position adjacent to a shoe presented to the machine, and to move another carrier which carries no shoe part into position adjacent to the stack.

17. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers rotatably mounted about a common axis, and. means responsive to presentation of the shoe upon the support for causing partial rotation of the carriers to move a carrier which is holding a shoe part into position adjacent to a shoe presented to the machine, and to move another carrier which carries noshoe part into position adjacent to the stack.

18. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers, a rotatable and slidable member upon which the carriers are mounted, and means for imparting to the member partial rotations alternated with sliding movements to cause the carriers successively to take a shoe part from the stack, to transport it into a position adjacent toa shoe presented to the machine, and

to deposit it upon the shoe.

19. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a source of supply of a softening medium, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers, a rotatable and slidable member upon which the carriers are mounted, and means for imparting to the member partial rotations alternated with sliding movements to cause the carriers successively to take a shoe part from the stack, to subject it to the action of the softening medium, to transport it into a position adjacent to a shoe presented to the machine, and to deposit it upon the shoe.

20. A machine for applying shoe parts to partly fabricated shoes having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers for taking parts from the stack and depositing them on the shoes, a rotatable member upon which the carriers are mounted, means tending at all times to rotate the member, control mechanism normally holding the member from rotation but adapted to be actuated to permit partial rotation of said member, and means responsive to the presentation to the machine of a shoe to which a part is to be applied for actuating said control mechanism to release the rotatable member.

21. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of suction carries, a rotatable and vertically movable member upon which the carriers are mounted, means for imparting a partial rotation to said member to bring a suction carrier into position above the stack of shoe parts, means for moving said member down to cause the suction carrier to contact with the uppermost shoe part of the stack, a source of suction, and means operated by downward movement of the carrier for connecting the carrier with the source of suction.

22. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts,

a plurality of suction carriers, a rotatable and vertically movable member upon which the carriers are mounted, means for imparting a partial rotation to said member to bring a suction carrier into position above the stack of shoe parts, means for moving said member down to cause the suction carrier to contact with the uppermost shoe part of the stack, a source of suction, a valve on the carrier, and means located in the path of movement of a portion of the valve when the carrier moves down to open the valve and connect the carrier with the source of suction.

23. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack'of shoe parts, a plurality of suction carriers, a rotatable and vertically movable member upon which the carriers are mounted, means for imparting a partial rotation to said member to cause a carrier which holds a shoe part by suction to move into position above a shoe presented to the machine and to cause another carrier having no shoe part to move into position above the stack of shoe parts, means for moving said member downward, a source of suction, and means operated by downward movement of said member for cutting off the suction from the carrier which is adjacent to the shoe and for connecting the other carrier with the source of suction.

24. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of suction carriers, a rotatable and vertically movable member upon which the carriers are mounted, means for imparting a partial rotation to said member to cause a carrier which holds a shoe part by suction to move into position above a shoe presented to the machine and to cause another carrier having no shoe part to move into position above the stack of shoe parts, means for moving said member downward, a source of suction, a valve on each carrier, and means located in the paths of movement of portions of the valves when the carrier moves down to close the valve of the carrier which is adjacent to the shoe and to open the valve of the other carrier.

25. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a source of supply of arsoftening medium, means for taking a shoe part from the stack, for subjecting it to the action of a softening medium and for depositing the softened shoe part upon the shoe, and means including a flexible presser normally held yieldingly taut for pressing the shoe part against the shoe.

26. A machine for applying a shoe part to a partly fabricated shoe having in combination a shoe support, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a source of supply of a softening medium, means for taking a shoe part from the stack, for subjecting it to the action of the softening medium and for depositing it upon a shoe, and means independent of the first-named means for pressing the shoe part against the shoe.

27. A machine for applying a toe stiffener to the toe portion of the lining of a shoe having in combination a shoe support upon which a shoe may be presented to the machine, a maga-' zine for a stack of toe stifieners, a source of. supply of a softening medium, means for taking a toe stiffener from the stack, for subjecting it to the action of the softening medium and for depositing it upon the toe portion of the lining of a shoe presented upon the support, a flexible presser, and means for causing the presser to descend upon the rear portion of the stiffener and conform to the transverse curvature of the toe portion of the shoe.

28. Mechanism for pressing a toe stifiener against a portion of a partly fabricated shoe having in combination a support for the shoe, a flexible presser adapted to engage the rear margin only of the stiffener, a second presser adapted to engage a locality near the forward end of the toe stiffener, and means for operating the pressers.

29. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a support for the toe portion. of a partly fabricated shoe, a magazine for a stack of toe stiffeners, means for taking a toe stiifener from the stack and for depositing the softened stiffener upon the toe portion of the lining of the shoe, and means for pressing the stifiener against the lining, said means including a narrow flexible presser adapted to engage the rear margin of the stiffener and a second presser which engages the forward portion of the stiffener after the flexible presser has engaged the 7 rear margin.

stack toward the carrier until such movement of the stack is arrested by contact of the stack with the carrier.

31. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a shoe support, a magazine for a stack of shoe parts, a plurality of carriers, means for causing the carriers to take shoe parts successively from the stack and to deposit them successively upon shoes presented successively upon the support, said means including mechanism for causing two of the carriers to move simultaneously one toward the stack and the other toward the shoe, the extent of said movement being variable and depending upon the thickness of. the shoe on the support, and yielding means rendered operative in timed relation with the movement of the carriers for moving the stack toward the carrier which is adjacent to it.

32. A machine for placing a toe stiffener upon the toe portion of the lining of a partly fabricated shoe on a last having, in combination, a support upon which the shoe may be placed with its bottom resting upon the support and with the toe portion of the upper pulled back to expose the toe portion of the lining, a member which contacts with the toe end of the shoe to facilitate the location of the shoe in predetermined position on the support, a magazine for a stack of toe stiffeners, and means for taking a stiffener from the stack, for subjecting it to the action of a softening medium and for locating it accurately in position upon the lining of. the shoe thus supported.

33. A machine for placing a toe stiffener upon the toe portion of the lining of a partly fabricated shoe on a last having, in combination, a sup-port upon which a shoe may be placed with the toe portion of the lining exposed, a member movable in a. fixed path to press a toe stiffener ed shoe on a last having, in combination, a support having a roughened surface over which the toe portion of the bottom of the shoe may be pushed to draw the lining tightly over the toe portion of the last, a member which limits forward movement of the shoe, a magazine for a stack of, toe stifieners, and means for taking a stifiener from the stack, for subjecting it to the action oi a softening medium and for placing it upon the smoothed lining of a shoe so supported.

35. A machine for placing toe stifieners upon the toe portions of the linings of partly fabricated shoes of different sizes having, in combination, a turret, a plurality of magazines mounted thereon adapted to hold stacks of toe stiffeners of different sizes, said turret being rotatable to bring a selected stack into operative position, a support for a partly fabricated shoe with the toe portion of its lining exposed, and means for taking a stiffener from the selected stack, subjecting it to the action of, a softening medium and placing it upon the toe portion of the lining of the shoe.

36. A machine for placing toe stifieners upon the toe portions of the linings of partly fabricated shoes having, in combination, a support upon Which the shoes may be placed in succession with the toe portions of their linings exposed, a magazine for a stack of stiffeners, a plurality of carriers for taking stifieners one by one from the stack, subjecting them to the action of a softening medium and applying them to the linings of the shoes, the construction being such that while one stiffener is being applied to the lining of a shoe another stiffener is: being softened.

BERNHARDT JORGENSEN. 

